Battle Creek Among Top 10 Surprising New Boomtowns In The U.S.

Battle Creek is among the top metro areas in the nation seeing a surprising acceleration in housing prices according to a list compiled by the National Association of Realtors. This news comes as the rate of price acceleration is beginning to slow nationally. But the Cereal City is among ten in the U.S.bucking that trend over the last year, coming in at #5 on the list.

According to the article, a there are a few factors that are spurring growth in these unexpected boomtowns. Some, tethered mostly to one industry, have gone through plenty of boom and bust cycles and are currently at the top of a boom. Others are still-affordable places located near ultra-expensive cities with an influx of buyers seeking relief from high costs. Most are places that fell so far in the housing crash that they still have more room to grow. The article doesn't specifically indicate which of these factors put Battle Creek on the list, but the housing crash was particularly brutal for the city.

Here is what they did have to say about the outlook for Battle Creek based on the data:

In the heart of the Rust Belt, Battle Creek has a heavy industrial presence, with employers like DENSO Manufacturing Michigan, an automotive parts maker with a 1.4 million-square-foot campus in the region. With American manufacturers posting good numbers, Battle Creek is looking good for the foreseeable future and seeing more folks snapping up homes.

To come up with findings, realtor.com's data team analyzed the increase in median list prices on their website from September 2017 to September 2018 in the nation's 300 largest metropolitan areas. Then they ranked the places that saw the biggest percentage change in home prices during that span.